giant inflatable characters lead visitors along contemplative journey in installation by ENESS

A whimsical FUSION OF INFLATABLES, LEDS, AND AI

A whimsical new media installation immerses visitors on a journey of discovery towards happiness at Centre d’art à Châteaugiron, France. Melbourne-based studio ENESS’ ‘Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness’ creates a winding trail marked by oversized, inflatable characters that chant incantations and blink innocently from digital eyes.

The immersive installation introduces the mystical luck-giving yogi which stretches ten-meters-long and hovers above visitors, and the Modern Guru which poses AI-generated messages that raise questions about sources of guidance. Interactive and playful, the two invite viewers to explore their luminous surfaces, textures, and ambient Asiatic soundscapes for a mystical, multi-dimensional experience.

eness plants immersive installation at former french chapel

Art collective ENESS introduces a giant character that stretches down from the traditional Cathedral beams in the church-turned-gallery space and cascades to dwarf visitors. As each acolyte passes through the yogi’s arms a pure bell-like chime acknowledging their presence against the backdrop of a soundscape recalling the music of the Himalayas. The surfaces of its voluminous forms are marked with graphic patterns that engage in visual dialogue with the chateau’s textural ceiling, and touch and motion stimulate color changes in each piece, bathing the space in immersive hues. 

As visitors gradually progress through the mystical journey of ritual, realization, and revelation, they are faced with the final part of the work — Modern Guru. This translucent ovoid with four huge digital eyes floats ethereally above a ceremonial ring of LEDs as a ream of absurdist messages flow from his mouth. In a statement about the true nature of the lived experience, a new message is delivered when visitors take a photo of the character — a missive produced only for those who seek to photograph life rather than live the moment. In both pieces the textures are fittingly psychedelic, with swirling digital expressions that call to mind 60s Op Art, while subtle Eastern religious influences are evident on Modern Guru who is patterned with mandala-like flower motifs.

With ‘Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness’, artist Nimrod Weis of ENESS continues his exploration into graphic printmaking and incorporating modern technologies like AI into sculptural artworks. ‘We treat inflatables as a medium — similar to charcoal or paint — in that it’s a base material for us that we are constantly investigating with each subsequent work. With Modern Guru we are testing the limits of this structure by mounting a printer at his ‘mouth’ from which AI messages spool. This requires understanding of air pressure and the engineering of the structures themselves,’ he explains.

project info:

name: Modern Guru and the Path to Artificial Happiness
designer: ENESS

location: Centre d’art à Châteaugiron, France

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